


Situation Report, Part 1

by clgfanfic



Category: War of the Worlds (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-17
Updated: 2012-11-17
Packaged: 2017-11-18 20:24:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/564930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A post-"Second Seal" vignette.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Situation Report, Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Green Floating Weirdness under the pen name Gillian Holt.

United States Army

Department of Military Intelligence

Situation Report

Classification: TOP SECRET

 

Filed:  21 November 1988

 

By:    Colonel Lane Cress, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Military Intelligence Liaison Officer

 

To:     Joint Chiefs of Staff, Brig. General Henry J. Wilson,

          Lt. Col. Paul Ironhorse, Dr. Harrison Blackwood

 

Date of event:  17-18 November 1988

 

Location of event:  Ft. Streeter, California

 

Reason for review:

1) To assess probable loss of materials,

2) to assess base security,

3) to describe recovery efforts

4) to assess whether appropriate actions were taken by Lt. Col. Paul Ironhorse.

 

Status at completion of review:  Classified (Closed/Special)

 

Description of events:

 

On 17 November 1988, members of the Blackwood Project (Lt. Col. Paul Ironhorse, Dr. Harrison Blackwood and Dr. Suzanne McCullough), visited Ft. Streeter, specifically the Kirby Hall's classified records storage vaults, in order to review materials from Project Deep Ice found to be in storage there.

 

Doctors Blackwood and McCullough entered the vaults at 1747 hours.  LtC. Ironhorse accompanied them to the bottom floor, Level 1, but returned to the surface at 1800 and left Kirby Hall, following General Master's request that he attend a banquet being held in the General's honor.

 

LtC. Ironhorse stopped at the barracks housing Delta Squad detachments Red and Blue to change.

 

At 1900 LtC. Ironhorse arrived at Morris Hall.  General Masters failed to arrive for the pre-banquet festivities.  At 2000 the formal dinner began although General Masters was still absent.  At 2130, the General failed to arrive for his award presentation.

 

At 2240, with the General officially more than an hour overdue, LtC. Ironhorse left Morris Hall to locate the General, stopping at: the Base Command HQ, General Masters' on base home, and the MP HQ.  Failing to locate the General, LtC. Ironhorse returned to Morris Hall to see if Masters had arrived there.  When he was unable to locate the General at Morris Hall, and other officers expressed their growing concern, LtC. Ironhorse returned to Kirby Hall to begin a systematic search.

 

While en route back to the vaults at approximately 2400, LtC. Ironhorse received a call from Dr. Blackwood requesting that he pick up a pizza on his way back.

 

At 0015 LtC. Ironhorse stopped at the Hot House, an all-night restaurant on base.  From there he called Kirby Hall and was told that General Masters had left the building on urgent business, but there was a message for the Colonel.  The contents of that message:  "Have a situation brewing, sorry to miss you at the banquet.  Guess I owe you some rubber chicken.  Tell Henry hello next time you see him.  Whatever you need here at Kirby Hall is yours.  Good to see you again, Paul.  Don't be a stranger.  General Masters."  (Item A-1b, logged message, Kirby Hall main switchboard)

 

With that information, and no trouble reported from doctors Blackwood and McCullough, LtC. Ironhorse decided to order dinner at the Hot House (he had not eaten at the Banquet) and then picked up the requested pizza for Dr. Blackwood.

 

At 0215, the Colonel received a call from Norton Drake, also a member of the Blackwood Project, informing him that doctors Blackwood and McCullough were in trouble at Kirby Hall.  Mr. Drake was at Government Property #348, monitoring the activity of Blackwood and McCullough through a computer modem link.

 

LtC. Ironhorse proceeded directly to Kirby Hall.  Upon arriving at approximately 0230, Colonel Ironhorse found the Hall in the control of aliens.  Gaining access to the building at about 0245, the Colonel was fired upon and took defensive action.  Six aliens were destroyed in the encounter, the Colonel sustained two wounds.  After a search of the facility's above ground structure, the Colonel called for a Delta security team at 0500.

 

Unable to gain access to the voice-locked elevator, Colonel Ironhorse took up a defensive position and waited to intercept any further aliens attempting to escape.  However, doctors Blackwood and McCullough exited the elevators at approximately 0530.  After ascertaining that they were not aliens, the doctors escorted the Colonel to the lobby of Kirby Hall where they administered superficial first aid to the Colonel's injuries.  At approximately 0550, a surviving alien attacked the three Project members, and then attempted to escape.  LtC. Ironhorse neutralized said alien.

 

Doctors Blackwood and McCullough believed that they were in possession of a list of dumpsite locations where alien remains are stored.  They thought the attacking alien was attempting to escape with that list.  However, the list was not retrieved among the remains, and its whereabouts is presently unknown.  It is surmised that it was destroyed along with other items in the explosions and fire on level one.

 

Doctors Blackwood and McCullough then waited outside Kirby Hall until the Delta squad arrived at 0600, having taken control of the surrounding area.  LtC. Ironhorse was taken to the base hospital and treated for gunshot wounds to the upper left arm and the right thigh.

 

After two days, on 20 November 1988, he was released to return to Government Property #348 and assigned light duty for the following three weeks.  LtC. Ironhorse will report to the base hospital for medical evaluations every 72 hours during this time.

 

 

**Point 1.  Probable loss of materials**

 

According to the reports from Dr. Blackwood, Dr. McCullough, and Mr. Drake, it is possible that the overwhelming majority of records and artifacts were lost in the explosions and resulting fire on level one of the storage vaults.

 

As of 20 Nov 1988, crews have not been able to gain access to Level one.  The fire, caused by multiple explosions, climbed the elevator and air shafts, starting fires on Levels two and three.  Base firefighters were able to stop those blazes before damage to additional records occurred.  Hot spots continue to burn on Level one.  Crews are in the process of drilling through the flooring between levels two and one to allow firefighters entry.

 

According to Mr. Drake's computer records, all the vaults containing material on Operation Deep Ice were housed on Level one.  It is possible that between 90 and 95% of the vaults on that floor contained materials relevant to the operation.  It is estimated that all organic material has been destroyed due to the fire and high temperatures.  Whether or not alien artifacts were destroyed is unknown at this time.

 

 

**Point 2.  Base security**

 

The following is a possible scenario on how the base was infiltrated.  There is no way to prove this theory, but it does correspond to all reported times and testimony.

 

At 1710, a news van arrived at the front gate.  The guard on duty, Sgt. Mark Arnold, reported that the newscaster, Cynthia Reynolds, had an invitation for General Master's Banquet.  The vehicle was allowed on base without a security check.  Ms. Reynolds was from station KSFD-TV.  Further investigation revealed that she and her cameraman had been missing for 32 hours prior to their arrival at Ft. Streeter.

 

It is believed that both Ms. Reynolds and her cameraman, Dennis Franklin, were aliens at the time they entered the base.  It is also believed that four unblended aliens were in the van at the time it entered the base.

 

Ms. Reynolds and Mr. Franklin proceeded to Kirby Hall where they encountered the unexpected, General Masters, as he escorted the Blackwood Project members to the Hall.  According to testimony, General Masters ordered his aide, Captain Walter Murphy, to have the reporter removed.  Capt. Murphy called the base MP's at 1730.

 

Two MP's arrived at 1740 but were taken over by two of the unblended aliens in the van.  Later, Capt. Murphy was taken over as well.

 

General Masters requested that Lt. Michael Hammel arrange for a driver to meet him at Kirby Hall.  Sgt. Robert Hancock arrived to drive the General to his banquet, but was lured out of his vehicle by Capt. Murphy and was taken over by the fourth unblended alien.

 

In order to expedite matters, the aliens took over General Masters.  When the General arrived at his car, the alien who had absorbed Sgt. Hancock then took possession of his body.

 

At 1830 a call from General Masters reached the front gate guard post.  The General informed Corp. David Michell that a truck would be arriving and that he was to allow the vehicle to enter the base without being stopped.  Corp. Michell logged the call due to its unusual nature, but allowed the vehicle to pass when it arrived at 1845.

 

At 1850 a call was logged at the base MP control HQ.  General Masters requested that twelve men be dispatched to Kirby Hall for reasons unstated.  The men were dispatched at 1857 and arrived at Kirby Hall at 1915.

 

Once the MP's arrived, it is believed that twelve unblended aliens waiting in the truck cleared by Corp. Michell then took possession of the soldiers.

 

The alien in Ms. Reynolds' body took over Lt. Michael Hammel and attempted to enter the Kirby Hall voice-locked elevator at 2117.  Access was denied.

 

The alien blended with Lt. Hammel then entered the elevator with Lt. Amanda Burke, the vault duty officer, at 2322 and took possession of her body.  This gave the aliens access to the vaults and ten of the sixteen invaders descended to Level one.

 

It is estimated that a total of sixteen aliens were involved in the attack on Kirby Hall.  All sixteen were killed, seven by Colonel Ironhorse, and the rest in the explosion and fire.

 

A review of base personnel has been undertaken, and there are no soldiers unaccounted for at this time.  The following casualties were sustained:  the Humbolt Squad, composed of twelve MP's; two MP's from Trinity Squad detached at Capt. Murphy's request; General Harold M. Masters; Capt. Walter Murphy; Lt. Michael Hammel; Lt. Amanda Burke; Sgt. Robert Hancock; and Sgt. Ellen Cataway.  A total of 20 base personnel.

 

**Recommendations concerning base security:**

 

1\. Installation of radiation detectors to automatically scan each vehicle entering the base at all entry points.

 

2\. Use of voice locks in all high security locations.  The alien blending evidently distorts the human electronic voice pattern enough to be detected with present levels of receptiveness.  I suggest that those levels be made more sensitive to ensure future security.

 

3\. A more careful logging procedure for all calls that are "out of the ordinary" at both the gates and the MP HQ.

 

**Point 3.  Recovery efforts**

 

At the present time (20 Nov 1988) a team of engineers are working to drill through from level two.  Once this is accomplished, firefighters and members of the Delta Squad will enter level one to contain the fires and secure the floor.

 

Once the fires are out, Dr. Blackwood and LtC. Ironhorse (if cleared by base physician) will command a recovery team which will thoroughly inspect each vault on the level for any artifacts that might have survived.  These artifacts will then be moved to a secured vault on Level 3 (47-C-10).  Once items are safely in the new vault, doctors Blackwood and McCullough will have access to the materials for their research.

 

A second report listing recovered materials will be filed as soon as possible.

 

 

**Point 4.  Assessment of conduct by Lt. Col. Paul Ironhorse**

 

LtC. Ironhorse had no reason to suspect that aliens might be planning an attack on Ft. Streeter, or more specifically, Kirby Hall.  Information concerning the whereabouts of Operation Deep Ice had only been uncovered the day before the Project's visit, on 17 Nov 1988.

 

LtC. Ironhorse left doctors Blackwood and McCullough alone at Kirby Hall to follow a direct order from General Masters.  There was no reason for the Colonel to suspect that anything out of the ordinary was occurring, even when General Masters failed to appear at the Banquet, since it was not an official gathering and any problems on the base would take precedent.

 

That LtC. Ironhorse did decide to search for the General is evidence of his loyalty and sense of concern for a fellow officer.  Once the message from General Masters was relayed there was no reason for LtC. Ironhorse to pursue the matter without risking a charge of interference or paranoia.

 

When the Colonel arrived at Kirby Hall, he acted with the utmost courage and discretion.  Confirming that the Hall was in the hands of aliens, he took the necessary actions to neutralize those aliens left above ground without assistance, and maintaining the secrecy of the Project.  Once the Hall was secured, the Colonel immediately called for the appropriate assistance.  Delta Squad acted with speed and precision to contain and secure the area.

 

The only question I have concerning the Colonel's actions has to do with his performance in relation to doctors Blackwood and McCullough when they emerged from the vaults.  _It must be noted that there was absolutely no way for the Colonel to be certain that the two scientists had not been absorbed by aliens_.  LtC. Ironhorse chose to follow his "gut instinct" on the matter, lowering his guard while injured.  This action borders on the foolhardy.  However, given the intimate working relationship that exists among the members of the Blackwood Project, the Colonel's past record, and his current familiarity with the overall alien climate, I conclude that, while risky in the extreme, LtC. Ironhorse's actions were at all times efficient and in keeping with the highest level of professionalism.

 

In this encounter, LtC. Ironhorse did act above and beyond the call of duty.  I respectfully recommend that Lt. Colonel Paul Ironhorse be considered for the Joint Service Commendation Medal with V device.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Colonel Lane Cress

 

Continued in Situation Report, Part 2


End file.
